Black Masquerade
by theDoctorlies
Summary: During Ino’s costume party, a masked assailant corners Naruto and kisses the living daylights out of him. SasuNaruSasu, KibaHina! COMPLETE


Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me. I own nothing.

Summary: During Ino's costume party, a masked assailant corners Naruto and kisses the living daylights out of him. SasuNaruSasu, KibaHina

A/N: WoOt WoOt! 'Ello all you lovely readers. Even though Halloween has passed, I am still posting this up. And I mean it's really late. Review!

* * *

"Hand me that string of lights, large-forehead." A blonde girl stood on a shaky ladder, hand outstretched to the pink haired girl at the bottom with the lights. The girl stuck out her tongue childishly before reaching into a box and pulling out a string of lights that had little candy corns on it. She handed it to the girl on the shaky ladder, then braced her hands on either side of the metal contraption.

"Do you think Sasuke will come? I hope he likes my costume!' Sakura looked dazed as she thought about the dark haired nin, her eyes sparkling. Ever since he came back from sound, she'd been thinking of ways to get the teen back into the good graces of their friends. What better way than a costume party?

Ino just shook her head as she put up the lights, hammering nails in between the wires. The party had been her idea _and _it was going to be in her house. Everyone was required to wear a costume, or one would be provided for them, and boy were they _embarrassing_. Ino had picked out the costumes herself, and if _anyone_ failed to bring one…well, they were in for an interesting night.

"You know, I'd like to see Sasuke in that maid's uniform." The blond smirked, as she climbed down from the ladder. She took a couple steps into the street and admired her house. The outside was completely decorated, with carved pumpkins sitting on the steps, and cobwebs in the windows. It didn't look as 'scary' as she was hoping. "Well, we'd better start passing out invitations. You can talk to Naruto and Sasuke first."

"Right." Sakura agreed, nodding her head and letting her hair fall in her eyes. "We'll meet back here after I get their answers and you get Shikamaru and Chouji's. Then we'll go from there."

"See you later, large-forehead."

"Same to you, Ino-pig."

The two girls parted, Ino heading for the barbecue joint, and Sakura for Ichiraku. If she knew her teammates as well as she hoped she did, then they would be there.

* * *

"Two bowls of miso pork ramen, old man!" Naruto slammed his palm flat on the counter, nearly scaring the other patrons around him. The man behind it just smiled as he took the teen's orders and began to make them. Scratched and bleeding, the blond just grinned.

"Training again, Naruto?" The old man asked, eyes flicking to the brooding teen next to the exuberant blond. Sasuke just stared straight ahead, eyes void of emotion, arms crossed on the counter. He only moved when his bowl of ramen was set out in front of him.

"You bet! And I beat Sasuke-bastard again today!" Naruto picked up his chopsticks and began inhaling his ramen at an alarming rate. The old man was unperturbed by this-he was used to Naruto inhaling his food-and instead smiled at the blond congenially.

"That's because you cheated, moron." Sasuke said, eating his ramen at a much slower pace. "Your shadow clone jutsu isn't a form of _taijutsu_."

"You're just mad that I beat you!" Naruto teased.

Sasuke opened his mouth for a retort, but a loud call of his name caught his attention, and instead he turned around. Sakura was running towards them, waving a piece of paper in her hand and smiling widely. The girl had matured in the last three years, and Sasuke still felt the same about her as he always had. She was annoying, but he considered her to be one of his closest friends.

"Hi, Sakura!" Naruto said loudly, as he spun around in his seat. "Guess what? I beat Sasuke today! Again! Can you believe it?! Hey, hey! What's that paper for?!"

"It's for a party." The pink haired girl waved it in the blond's face, watching his eyes go wide as he tried to snatch it out of her hand. Sakura held it away from him, and flicked him in the nose. "It's for Ino's Halloween party this Saturday, and you have to wear a costume. Do you want to come?"

"Eh? Ino's having a Halloween party? Of course I wanna come!"

"Sasuke?" Sakura turned her attention to the brooding teen, mentally crossing her fingers and hoping he said yes. The party would've been a total bust if he didn't come. After all, that's why they were having a party in the first place. "Come on, Sasuke. You have to come."

"I'll pass." The Uchiha pushed his bowl towards Naruto, slapped a few bills onto the counter, and walked away without saying a word.

"It's at six on Saturday, just in case you change your mind! And bring a costume!" Sakura called after him, waving the invitation in the air. She dropped her arm as the brooding teen disappeared, huffing as she took his seat next to their blond teammate. "Well, there goes that idea." She grumbled.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" The blond asked, picking up Sasuke's bowl and tilting his head back. His thoughts were on Sasuke, who had seemed to have a stick shoved further up his ass than it used to be. But Naruto just guessed he had to act that way in Sound, and kind've just fell into the act and stuck with it. Six months had already passed, and so far Sakura, and Kakashi, and himself were the only people the dark haired teen had bothered to talk to. "So you planned that party for Sasuke to talk to people?"

"Ino and I planned it, but yeah, that was the idea. Sasuke may talk to Kakashi and me sometimes, but it's like he's glued to you." The pink haired girl sighed, as she set her head on the blond's shoulder. Over the past few years, the blond boy had become her best friend, of sorts. "Why do you think that is, Naruto?" Sakura lifted her head, eyebrows furrowed at the whiskered boy.

"Because I forgave him without a second thought." The blond answered easily, gazing down at the pink haired girl with a small frown. "Didn't you?"

Sakura's eyes widened minutely before she looked away, a blush staining her cheeks. "Um, I may have yelled at him. But only just a little!" She rushed to amend at Naruto's outraged cry. She looked back, a pained smile on her face. "I hated what he did you us, to _you_."

"Sakura…" The blond blinked.

"Well, I've gotta meet Ino back at her house. Ja!" The pink haired girl pulled a strained smile as she got down from the stool, and headed in the direction of Ino's house. _I-I hope he doesn't know. I don't want anyone to know that I don't love Sasuke anymore. Nobody can find out yet._

Sakura nodded her head; determination set in her face.

_Those two are going to get together if it's the last thing I do. I just need a new idea!_

* * *

Frog purse in hand, Naruto made his way to the closest shop that made costumes. He had a sinking feeling that something bad would happen if he showed up without one. But he was looking forward to buying a mask so he could sneak around and prank people without them knowing it was him. Especially Sasuke, although the dark haired boy wasn't going to be at the party. Well, he could just go to the Uchiha's house later.

The blond grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. The costumes were everywhere. They were sitting on shelves, hung up on the wall, and on hangers. There were so many to chose from that it all made the whiskered boy's head spin. How was he supposed to choose one?

"Oh, well," he murmured, "I _have_ to find a costume." Naruto stepped over the threshold and into the store, moving towards the shelf closest to him. None of the costumes on the shelf piqued his interest, so he moved onto the other side of the aisle. There were wolf costumes, bloody, axe murderers, and things Naruto only saw in his nightmares. All the costumes made his skin crawl. "It's just a Halloween party. I don't need a scary costume. I should just find something a little tamer."

"You know, you could just go as a cat or something." The girl behind the counter suggested, smirking as the blond turned towards her. "Those marks on your cheeks, they'd make good whiskers. Just take some eyeliner and darken them a little."

"Only girls go as cats, lady."

"Then go as a fox." The girl pointed down an aisle, where the costume accessories were most likely kept. Naruto scowled at her; did she know who he was and how ironic that would be? He already had kyuubi sealed inside of him. "And before you go off on me," the girl smiled, "kyuubi has nothing to do with my suggestion. You're the one that said you wanted a tamer costume."

Naruto's scowl deepened, "So you suggest a girly costume?"

"It's not girly, moron. And besides, you'd make a good fox." The girl looked him up and down appreciatively, a smirk twisting the corners of her mouth. She stepped out from behind the counter, grabbed his wrist, and tugged him down the aisle with all of the accessories. "We sell ears and tails for a fox costumes. You never know, maybe a girl will like your costume and ask you to dance."

Naruto blushed as the counter girl stopped him in front of the ears and tails, pointing out the different colors he had to choose from.

"It's only for one night, right?" she giggled. Naruto felt his cheeks grow hotter when the girl blew him a kiss as she walked away, waving and making cooing noises at him. He raked a hand through his hair and stared down at all the fox costume accessories.

_At least Sasuke won't be there to see it. _Sighing, the blond picked up a pair of beige ears and a beige tail-it matched his hair-and went towards the check out. _I'll never live this down, will I?_

* * *

When Naruto reached his apartment, he realized he needed two things: eyeliner and sewing stuff. He needed the eyeliner to darken the marks on his cheeks and around his eyes-as embarrassing as that sounded- and he needed the sewing stuff for the tail. He was going to sew it on the back of his pants, so it actually looked like he had a tail. And he _still_ didn't know _why_ he was going through with any of it.

Embarrassingly enough, he had to borrow those items from some of his friends. For the eyeliner he went to the only person he hoped wouldn't laugh at him. Taking a breath and crossing fingers, Naruto raised his hand and knocked on the door in front of him.

When the door swung open, he froze.

"Hey, Naruto, what's up?" Kiba Inuzuka leaned against the doorframe, grinning from ear to ear at the blond boy. Naruto, for his part, seemed terrified.

"What are you doing at Hinata's?" The blond asked, question marks floating above his head. There was no way he could ask Hinata for eyeliner while dog-boy was standing there. Kiba would never let him live it down. "Hey, where is she by the way?"

"In the kitchen. That's why I answered the door."

"Oh."

"Yeah. So what'd you need?" Kiba shifted his weight to his other foot, waiting for the blond boy to stop staring at him and answer his question. After a moment, Naruto mumbled something under his breath that he didn't catch. "What was that? God, talk louder, why don'tcha?"

"I said, I need to borrow her eyeliner." The blond gritted out angrily. There was a moment of stunned silence before Kiba burst out laughing. Naruto blushed crimson and folded his arms across his chest as he waited for the other boy to stop laughing.

"Eyeliner? Are you trying to tell us something, Uzumaki?" Kiba gasped, holding his stomach as he just kept laughing. He was still laughing when Hinata came to the door, handing a thin, black pencil to the embarrassed blond boy standing in her doorway.

"Give it back when you're done." The girl said quietly, blushing prettily at him. She ushered a crying Kiba into the house and shut the door behind her. From inside Naruto could still hear Kiba's laughter.

_Yup, I'm never gonna live this down._

* * *

"You want me to sew this…on the back of your pants?" Shizune blinked, holding up the limp foxtail and looking at it with an eyebrow raised. Her eyes strayed to the blond's pants-which he was still wearing-then back to the tail. "Um, how am I supposed to…"

"I brought an extra pair." Naruto said brightly, as he pulled a pair of orange pants from a bag in his hand. They were completely identical to the pair he was wearing. The dark flush on his cheeks gave away his embarrassment. "But, anyway, this is all part of my costume!"

"Oh. Oh, I see! You're going as a fox! That's so cute!" Shizune took the orange pants out of the boy's hands, grinning down at him as she threw them over her shoulder. Naruto was still blushing. "I'll have these done for you as soon as possible, okay?"

"Okay." Naruto nodded to her briefly, before he turned around and heard her door close behind him. He shoved his hands into his pocket, and headed down the street towards his house. Then sun was just starting to dip beneath the horizon, casting a red-orange glow over the immediate area. People were hurrying to get home, be it to have dinner or just to be together. The blond kept his head bowed so he wouldn't see their glares, though over the years they had become less intense.

Naruto was walking past the training ground when a flash of black caught his eye. Tracing back a few steps, he peeked into the large area, and spotted Sasuke standing in the middle of the clearing. His fists were clenched at his sides, nails biting into his palms, and he was panting heavily. The blond just stood there for a couple of moments, watching as the other boy tried to regain his breath. For some reason he couldn't quite understand, he felt like could stand there and watch Sasuke all day if he really wanted to.

And that was kind of scary.

Naruto shook his head vigorously, gave Sasuke one last searching look, then continued on his way. _I must be more tired than I thought. I need to get some sleep._

Sasuke felt eyes on his back, and he didn't have to look behind him to know who it was. He could've felt Naruto's chakra signature from eight miles away if he put his mind to it. He had been working out his frustration on an innocent tree, and was trying to catch his breath when the blond showed up. Sasuke wouldn't admit it to anyone-not even himself-that something about the other boy unsettled him. It wasn't a bad thing and yet, it wasn't exactly a good thing. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it actually was and that really bothered him. Like, for example, the fact that he was practically glued to his blond teammate.

Naruto's chakra signature slowly started to move away, and Sasuke's body went limp. He couldn't take it anymore, the way he felt uncomfortable around the other boy. There wasn't even a reason for it, unless somehow his body knew something he hadn't picked up on yet. But that wasn't even possible…

…was it?

When an answer didn't immediately pop into his head, he just grunted and shoved his hands into his pockets. _Maybe I should talk to Sakura or something. Wait, no…I can't tell her anything. Not yet, at least._ Sasuke tipped his head back, the pumpkins on someone's porch giving him a sudden epiphany. _The party…I'll do it then. Maybe, just maybe, I can figure out what the hell is wrong with me._

* * *

He was sitting in the doorway of Ino's house, the music from inside leaking through the cracks in the door. He was still embarrassed about his costume, and he pulled at the ears on top of his head irritably. Nobody knew what his costume was, and he liked to keep it that way. The tail stitched to the back of his pants was bad enough, but the eyeliner on his face was worse. Everybody could see the make-up and Kiba was already laughing.

Building up his courage, he raised his hand and knocked on Ino's door. There was a moment where she stood at the door laughing before it eventually swung open.

"…Naruto?" The blonde girl blinked, taking in the whiskered boy's appearance. The marks on his cheeks were darkened- as well as the area around his eyes-, there were ears on top of his head, and there was a tail stitched to the back of his pants. "So," she tilted her head to the side, "what are you supposed to be?"

"A fox?" The blond boy mumbled, a red-hot blush spreading over his cheeks. He waited as the kunoichi gave him a once-over, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smirk.

"It's cute. Come on in, everyone's already here." The pony tailed girl stepped to the side to let him in, and all the heads in the room turned to him. Naruto took a breath, raised his hand, and greeted the large group of people with a smile. There were a few catcalls as he made his way over to Sakura, the pink haired girl looking him up and down with her hand covering her mouth.

"Naruto, what made you decide to go as a cat?" Sakura giggled, reaching over with one hand to tug gently on the blond boy's ears. Naruto swatted her hand away, scowling.

"I'm a _fox_, not a cat."

"It's almost the same thing." She sighed. Sakura grabbed his elbow, and started to pull him over to the refreshment table, with all of its food and beverages. Now that Naruto got a good look at his teammate, her costume was a lot tamer than his was. She had a pair of glitter-y wings strapped to her back, glitter in her pink hair, and she wore a glitter-y, white dress that swept the floor.

"What are you supposed to be?" He asked bluntly.

"Oh. I'm a Princess. I was hoping Sasuke would come so he could be the Prince…"

"And the wings are for…?"

"I got them when I realized Sasuke wasn't coming. So, now I'm a fairy." The pink haired girl let go of his arm, and cast a glance around the room. She seemed to be looking for someone, like she still expected Sasuke to show up out of the blue.

"I don't think he's coming, Sakura." Naruto told her, placing his hand on her arm in comfort. She tipped her head towards him, smiled, and then shook it.

"I know that, but I can still hope."

"Yeah." Naruto looked around the room, catching glimpses of his friends in their costumes. Most of the boys had come as monsters and freaky little things, while the girls had come as something close to Sakura's and his own costumes. It was a little damaging to his pride.

The music pounded loudly in his head, as it thumped out of the speakers and into his ears. Sakura touched his elbow, and when he looked over at her, his grin threatened to crack his cheeks in two. Without saying a word, the pink haired girl started to sway to the music. Naruto danced awkwardly next to her, embarrassed because he didn't know what to do. But he cast his fears aside, just to milk the moment for what it was worth.

* * *

_Two straight hours of dancing can wear a man out,_ Naruto sighed, as he ran his hand through his sweat-soaked hair. His fox ears lay around his neck, and his sweat caused the eyeliner on his cheeks to run. He knew it was smudged, but he wasn't about to go into the bathroom to fix it.

The blond wiped the sweat off his forehead as he headed towards the kitchen, waving and grinning at the people that called his name. Kiba was the only one that made fun of him for the eyeliner on his face, and he was grateful for that.

The kitchen was almost deserted, save for the masked person leaning against the counter. He was dressed all in black, from head to toe, and the only part of him that was visible was the bottom half of his face and his dark eyes. There was a black mask covering the upper part of his face, with slanted eyeholes that made the dark stranger look exotic. But the tiny strands of soft, dark hair that fell in his eyes gave him an air of alluring mystery.

Naruto lifted one of his eyebrows in silent question, as he took in the other boy's black knee-length robe. The sleeves were long, stopping at the very tips of the stranger's fingers, which were covered with a pair of black, polyester gloves. The robe was also hooded, cutting off Naruto's view of the boy's dark hair.

"So," Naruto chirped, his eyebrow still raised, "what are you supposed to be?" The blond crossed his arms over his chest, a grin stretching to both of his ears. The masked boy didn't answer him, his dark eyes narrowed as he took in the blond boy's own costume. Naruto took a small step forward. "Hey, how are people gonna see you in the dark? You're like a shadow or something."

Still no answer. The other boy didn't even stiffen at Naruto's words.

_What the heck is this guy's problem?_ "Hey, don't you know you're supposed to answer if someone asks you a question?" When he was still met with silence, Naruto decided to give the dark haired boy a piece of his mind. Before he could even get a word out, though, the masked stranger had taken a couple steps forward, pinning Naruto between the fridge and his body. The magnets were digging into his back, but his attention was more focused on the dark eyes that had seemed to hold his very soul in their depths.

The dark haired boy was silent as he cupped Naruto's cheek with one gloved hand, soft, pink lips parting as if he were going to say something. Naruto held his breath as the other boy leaned closer, like he wanted to whisper. But Naruto's intake of breath came out as a surprised squeak as those soft, pink lips closed over his own.

_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!_ Naruto moved his hands to the other boy's shoulders, determined to shove him away, but was thwarted as the masked stranger seized his wrists. His arms were effectively pinned to his sides, where they struggled fruitlessly in the other boy's grasp. _Oh, god, he's going to rape me! _The blond screamed in his head, as he screwed his eyes shut.

They snapped back open when the other boy nipped at his bottom lip, and the blond's mouth opened instinctively. The masked stranger took advantage of the situation and slipped his tongue into Naruto's mouth.

The whole world seemed to stop spinning as the blond's eyes fell shut. In his head, he kept telling himself to pull away, but a tingling was starting at his lips and travelling to the pit of his belly. It made him shiver with something he'd never felt before, because he didn't make a habit of kissing strangers with masks on, especially of the male variety. But…But this stranger felt familiar, and damn it all if that didn't make sense in Naruto's head. God, the other boy even _smelled_ familiar, like something that he had never sensed before now.

"Naruto! Where'd you go?!" And just like that, the spell was broken by Sakura's voice. The bottom dropped out of Naruto's stomach as the other boy abruptly pulled away, eyes panicked. He didn't even spare the blond a second look as he hurried from the room, and disappeared into the crowd. A couple of seconds later Sakura appeared in the doorway, cheeks tinged pink with excitement. Naruto barely spared her a glance as he fell to his knees, fingers brushing against his kiss-swollen lips. He felt his stomach flutter at the fleeting memories.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, as she tilted her head to the side. She took a step further into the kitchen with her hands planted on her hips. "You're missing all the fun! Why are you in here on the floor?"

"Somebody just…"

"Somebody just what?"

"It's nothing. Never mind." Naruto pushed himself off the floor, then grabbed the fridge to stabilize himself. He was still unsteady on his feet from the kiss that the masked stranger had forced on him. It made his head spin just thinking about it.

"Why are your lips so red?" The pink haired girl asked suspiciously, taking another step forward to study her teammate's mouth. Her lips twisted into a knowing grin as she took a step closer still. "Naruto, don't lie to me. You were just kissing someone, weren't you?"

"N-No!" Naruto yelled, his cheeks turning red despite his protests. Sakura jabbed him in the side, trying to coax out the name of the person he had been kissing.

"Come on, I know you were kissing someone! Your lips are swollen!" The kunoichi grabbed his ear and pulled him out of the kitchen and into the crowd of people. Naruto's cheeks were still burning, and his ear was starting to hurt.

They came to a stop in front of a group of people Naruto could only assume were their friends. He tried to get rid of his blush as Sakura hauled him upright and shoved him in front of them. Everyone went quiet at the exact same time. Then…

"Naruto! What happened?!" Ino seized him by the shoulders, and shook him until it felt like his brain was going to fall out of his head. "Who have you been kissing?!"

"N-No one!" The blond boy protested. He struggled in her hold, feeling helpless all over again. His cheeks flooded with heat as the memory cropped up in his brain. "Let me go! I have to leave!"

"What? Why?" The blonde girl let go of his shoulders, her eyes wide and questioning. "But the party's just getting started! Why leave now?"

"I have to get up early in the morning 'cause Sasuke-bastard wants to train."

"_Ah._ Did you hear that, Sakura? Sasuke wants to train tomorrow." Ino giggled.

"Yeah." Ino and Sakura shared a look, then turned back to Naruto with twin smiles.

"All right, then. See you tomorrow." Ino pushed him towards the front door, giggling in his ear. "Have fun tomorrow, Naruto."

"Uh…yeah, sure." Naruto stepped out onto the porch, and waited until she had closed her door to walk away. His thoughts were spinning way too fast to actually decipher them. All he could think about was that kiss…

"Gah! Another kiss stolen by a dark haired bastard!" Naruto howled. He kept cursing the dark haired stranger all the way to his apartment, and as he got ready for bed. His thoughts were on a never-ending loop that kept going even when his eyes shut and was dead to the world around him.

* * *

Birds were chirping. And the sunlight coming in through the window was burning his eyes.

That was the first thing Naruto registered as he tried to free his head from sleep's grasp. A part of him wanted to go back to sleep and never wake up, because he had forgotten something important. In the back of his mind, he knew what it was, and his body heated up at the forgotten memory.

_Soft, pink lips…dark hair falling over dark eyes…arms pinned to his side…familiar…_

"Another kiss stolen, damn it." Blue eyes regarded the stucco ceiling with confusion woven in their depths. He didn't understand it, but the masked stranger had been a boy. So, why wasn't he more freaked out? His first kiss had gone to Sasuke, thanks to some moron during their academy days. His second kiss-which he had dubbed his "real" first kiss-went to a boy as well, and one he didn't know. Just when was he going to kiss a girl?

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto swung his legs over the side of his bed, and glanced at the time. It was nearing noon, which meant he had to meet Sasuke for a little training. The dark haired boy had been doing that a lot, asking the whiskered boy to train with him. It wasn't that Naruto minded, he loved to train, but it wasn't fair if your opponent held back every time. It was frustrating, wanting to beat Sasuke into the dirt and have him not give his all. Where was the challenge in that?

"Come to think of it, he's been acting really weird lately." The blond mumbled, as he lifted his eyes to the picture frame sitting next to his clock. It was the picture of Team 7, before everything went pear-shaped and Sasuke defected to Sound. Sure, the twelve-year-old Sasuke was a bastard, too, but Naruto couldn't help but want that one back. The old Sasuke had been his first real friend.

The whiskered boy shook his head, wanting to dislodge all thoughts of the Prickly Bastard formerly known as Sasuke. Those thoughts were completely alien to him, and just downright _wrong_. What would Sasuke say if he found out his blond teammate had been thinking about him? The mental images his brain conjured up were gruesome. Shuddering slightly, Naruto closed off his thoughts and tossed his pajamas onto his bed. It was stupid to take a shower, since he was only going to get dirty and sweaty. So, he just threw on his clothes and headed down to Ichiraku, the sun rising behind him.

* * *

Naruto was late. Half an hour late, actually. When that moron showed up, Sasuke was going to kill him. He was going to cut off his head, feed it to his summons', and then use the other boy's body as a punching bag. Yes, Sasuke Uchiha was angry. No, this went way passed angry. Sasuke Uchiha was _livid._

Breathing heavily and clenching his fists, the Uchiha paced back and forth, wanting to scream until his lungs gave out and exploded. Most of the anger he was experiencing wasn't even at the blond, but at himself. He was angry because he let himself care. He was angry for not seeing it before, when his personality wasn't so damaged beyond belief. He was angry at his lack of self-control.

_How could you __**kiss**__ him? What the __**fuck**__is wrong with you?! And don't act like a fucking girl because he kissed you back!_ Sasuke stopped pacing, growled, and then started the process all over again. His nails were cutting into his palms, a sort of punishment for what he had let happen.

"Hey, Sasuke-bastard!' The dark haired boy faltered in his pacing, head snapping up, anger temporarily forgotten. He knew his mouth was hanging open-he probably looked like an idiot-but his eyes were too transfixed on the blond boy's face. "Sorry I'm late, but I stopped at Ichiraku."

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut and glared pure death at the other boy. "You could've done that later, stupid. You just wasted my time."

Naruto's cheeks colored with anger. "Well, excuse me, Your Highness. I forgot I needed your permission to eat." The blond shoved past him, their shoulders brushing. Sasuke's breath hitched at the shock of electricity that shot up his arm.

Quickly schooling his face into a blank expression, the Uchiha turned around and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Don't you usually eat after we train? Why the sudden change?"

"'Cause I was hungry, bastard. I don't have to explain myself to you." Naruto answered over his shoulder, feeling Sasuke's eyes burning into the back of his head. He tried to ignore the other boy as he pulled off his jacket, and let it hang on a nearby tree branch. It was oddly warm for autumn, and Naruto could already feel the sun warming his dark shirt. "All right, Sasuke-bastard, let's get started."

"We're only use _taijutsu_ this time, Naruto. No cheating."

"Whatever, bastard." The blond took up a fighting stance, and waited for Sasuke to do the same. The dark haired boy was watching him warily, waiting for him to slip up and use one of his techniques. "Get ready, Sasuke, 'cause I'm gonna kick your ass into next week."

"Just you try it." The Uchiha took up his own fighting stance, and in seconds they were orange and black blurs. Naruto knew something in Sasuke had changed, because he was barely dodging the other boy's punches. Sasuke's fist sailed past his face, and he could feel the bare inches that the teen had missed. Something had definitely changed. Sasuke was putting his all into this fight.

Naruto flipped backwards out of the Uchiha's reach, but Sasuke rushed at him with a burst of speed and caught him in the stomach. His feet skidded across the ground from the sheer force, but he didn't have enough time to catch his breath as the dark haired boy rushed at him again. The blond tried to deflect the boy's punches on his forearms, but he was getting driven back each time.

_Dammit, why is he taking this so seriously?! What happened?!_

Naruto's momentary lack of concentration lost him everything. A foot caught him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards and skidding to a halt a few feet away from Sasuke. His vision swam in front of his eyes for a moment as a soft but heavy weight fell over his midsection. Naruto lifted his head and raised an eyebrow at Sasuke as the other boy stared back at him. Naruto furrowed his eyebrows; something in the other boy's expression was familiar. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

_Soft, pink lips…dark hair falling over dark eyes…arms pinned to his side…familiar…_

Blue eyes widened considerably as that memory cropped up in his brain, and he was suddenly very aware of why the masked stranger had felt so familiar. Those dark eyes, that dark hair…why hadn't he seen it before? The whole costume the boy had worn screamed SASUKE at him now that it was obvious.

The blond's eyes dropped to Sasukes lips, and in the back of his mind he was wondering why he hadn't said anything yet. But somehow he already knew the answer to that, and he was really okay with it. It was something he'd never thought about before, but if that kiss the other night was any sign, then he wouldn't mind doing it again-or maybe a dozen times more. Sasuke was a good kisser.

"You know," Naruto smiled, "black looks really good on you." The blond wriggled his eyebrows, feeling perfectly comfortable with the strange turn their relationship had taken. It was random, and confusing, but somehow what he would've expected from the two of them. And the longer he looked at Sasuke's lips, the more he realized he really, really wanted to kiss the other boy.

"What?" Sasuke asked, his facade of perfect calm cracking around the edges. He looked confused for a moment, as his eyebrows pinched together. "What the hell does that mean?" The dark haired teen started to push himself off of the blond underneath him-Naruto's warmth was just too tempting-but paused when the other boy placed a hand on his arm, keeping him from moving any further.

"Your costume last night." Naruto murmured; distracted by the way Sasuke licked his lips. How did he not notice this before? The Uchiha was sexy without even trying.

"What are you talking about?" The dark haired teen snapped, anxiety coloring his voice. Naruto felt the corners of his mouth lift slightly. Sasuke was _afraid _of him.

With that smile still tugging at his mouth, Naruto lifted his head slightly, meeting Sasuke's lips with his own. He felt the tingling again as he angled his head, tangling his fingers in soft, dark hair. The Uchiha was frozen above him, hands planted on either side of the blond's head. Naruto's eyes were at half-mast, staring straight into Sasuke's wide, dark eyes. Eventually he had to close them because it was just too much to take at one time. The tingling had turned into a growing ache in his chest, and a steady throb was starting between his legs. He knew he had liked the kiss, but to like it this much and not know?

Naruto moaned softly against Sasuke's lips-god, they were so soft-and angled his head differently to get better leverage. He was annoyed that Sasuke had yet to respond, and he could only feel the stiffness of the other boy's body hovering over him like a shadow. So he did the only thing that made sense in his head. He rolled his hips forward, wanting the other boy to know what he was doing without really doing anything. He saw Sasuke's eyes flutter briefly, before they darkened and he finally kissed back.

Sasuke's lips were feverish, and his hands were possessive as they tugged at the blond's dark shirt. He was breathing harshly through his nose as he trailed his lips down the other boy's neck, leaving bright red marks in their wake. Naruto clutched his shoulders with his fingernails; hard enough to hurt, but Sasuke wasn't paying attention as he sat up and pulled the blond into his lap.

"You're costume…" Sasuke breathed, nipping slightly at the blond's collarbone. His fingers were splayed across Naruto's back. Naruto thought Sasuke looked good then, his eyes glazed and his face pink. His lips were red and kiss-swollen. "I really liked your costume last night."

"You're probably the only one." Naruto smiled, as he leaned forward to kiss the Uchiha lightly, fingers lost in dark hair. He felt Sasuke smirk against his lips.

"I didn't plan on kissing you. It's all the costume's fault."

"Thank God I bought it then."

"Yeah." As Sasuke leaned forward to kiss him again, two dark figures hovered near the gates, both wearing identical grins.

"I'd say our plan was a success. What do you think?" Ino asked the girl next to her, as she linked their arms together. Sakura just smiled and shook her head.

"It wasn't us, Ino. Naruto chose to kiss Sasuke back. I think he knew somewhere in his little, blond head, that Sasuke was the one that had kissed him."

"Whatever. I still say it was us." Ino pulled the pink haired girl away from the sight in the training grounds, babbling about being matchmakers, but Sakura wasn't listening. She was too busy watching the fireworks explode above her teammate' heads like it was the fourth of July.

_Owari_


End file.
